{
  "id": 8820911,
  "title": "To stop violent men, look at the boys they were",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/to-stop-violent-men-look-at-the-boys-they-were",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-21T02:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Bhekisisa",
    "slug": "bhekisisa",
    "url": "https://bhekisisa.org/article/2026-09-21-to-stop-violent-men-look-at-the-boys-they-were/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Violent men do not simply become violent overnight. Childhood abuse, domestic violence, poverty, and damaging attitudes towards masculinity can accumulate over time, although not all boys who experience these factors will become violent. Men do express fear, shame, and pain when they feel safe to do so. Studies involving mineworkers, students, and young men from informal settlements indicate that the issue is not merely that men cannot openly express their emotions. Informing boys to \"discuss their feelings\" is insufficient. They require spaces where vulnerability will not undermine their masculinity, and access to affordable mental health support.\n\nIn today's newsletter, Yandisa Sikweyiya and Andrew Gibbs explain why violent men are not born. Sign up for their newsletter to learn more.\n\nJames is a composite character created from patterns frequently observed in research with boys and men in South Africa. His narrative helps us comprehend an essential aspect of South Africa's high levels of violence against women and girls: men do not abruptly transform into violent individuals.\n\nResearch over the past three decades has shed light on various factors that increase the likelihood of boys and men resorting to violence later in life. There is no single cause, and none of these experiences automatically implies that a boy will grow up to be violent. However, these risks can accumulate.\n\nChildhood abuse and neglect are significant factors. So are violence at home and in the community, poverty, substance abuse, and harmful ideas about masculinity. In South Africa, we must also consider these experiences within the context of our history of violence, deep inequality, and racism. Our recent research with male students at universities and colleges reveals how these pressures intersect. Young men discussed poverty, absent or violent fathers, childhood abuse, community violence, and detrimental masculinity notions that hindered vulnerability expression.\n\nThis brings us to James's story. After becoming a teenager, he felt lonely and sought belonging. He found it in a gang, admiring its leaders and seeking their approval. Engaging in fights, carrying weapons, robbing, and selling drugs became ways for him to prove himself. Sexual violence against women was another aspect he embraced, as violence provided him with status and belonging. Simultaneously, James began consuming alcohol and other substances, but he lacked knowledge on discussing fear, sadness, or shame; instead, he chose to suppress them. The connection between masculinity and emotions is crucial and has been overlooked in discussions about why men resort to violence.",
  "summary": "Why do some men become violent — and when can we intervene? Research with South African men shows how childhood trauma, poverty and ideas about masculinity can pile up, and where we may be able to interrupt the path to violence. The post To stop violent men, look at the boys they were appeared first on Bhekisisa .",
  "key_points": [
    "Childhood abuse and neglect increase likelihood of violent behavior",
    "Poverty, substance abuse, and harmful masculinity notions contribute to violence",
    "James' story illustrates how multiple factors lead to violent men"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Understanding the complex, accumulated factors that lead boys to become violent men highlights the need for safe spaces for vulnerability and accessible mental health support to break the cycle of violence.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Mail and Guardian",
        "title": "To stop violent men, look at the boys they were",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/to-stop-violent-men-look-at-the-boys-they-were-8924222",
        "published": "2026-09-21T12:24:30.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}